At ValueSelling Associates, we’ve recently completed a study that finds 67% of B2B companies that have a multi-year sales coaching program in place experience high revenue growth.
In addition, the research found that 60% of high-growth companies use coaching as an integrated part of a sales training program.
Great sales leaders know there is a cause and effect relationship between developing their teams and achieving their revenue goals. A winning sales team uses a consistent sales methodology and implements sales coaching as an essential part of a sales training program to make sure the entire customer-facing team will reach their next level of performance and excellence.
ValueSelling Associates, Inc. and Training Industry, Inc. surveyed online 330 U.S. learning professionals responsible for sales training within a wide range of industries to explore the role of sales coaching within B2B companies.
Key study findings include:
• Measuring the impact of your sales coaching program is of critical importance. Companies with the best coaching programs measure the impact of coaching in many ways to get a complete picture of their performance. High-growth companies expect significant outcomes from their investment in sales coaching, including:
o Individual productivity (63%)
o Customer satisfaction (59%)
o Individual quota achievement (58%)
o Employee satisfaction (51%)
o Bottom-line growth (55%)
• Top 5 most effective coaching skills. The best sales coaching programs focus on a wide range of skills. No two sales engagements are the same, and sellers need a broad skill set to consult with clients and close deals. These five skills were always or almost always effective when supported by sales coaching in high-growth companies:
o Listening/communication skills (67%)
o Product/service knowledge (67%)
o Presentation skills (63%)
o Sales process (62%)
o Engaging prospects (55%)
• Serving the entire sales organization with sales coaching enables the sales function to operate at a high level. High-growth companies focus on a variety of sales roles, and provide sales coaching to:
o Customer service reps (61%)
o External/field sales reps (57%)
o Business development personnel (54%)
o Internal/digital sales reps (43%)
• Top 4 methods high-growth companies use to develop sales coaches within their organization include:
o Pair existing coaches with new coaches (58%)
o Provide training courses aimed at basic coaching competencies (56%)
o Send potential coaches to external programs or certification courses (54%)
o Hire external coaches to train internal coaches (40%)
To download the ValueSelling Associates and Training Industry e-book, “Maximizing Performance with Sales Coaching,” visit: https://www.valueselling.com/maximizing-performance-with-sales-coaching The e-book shares best practices used at high-revenue growth companies to manage effective sales coaching programs.
To download the accompanying infographic, visit: https://www.valueselling.com/hubfs/Infographics/VSA_Infographic_MaxPerformanceSalesCoaching011320.pdf
